Friday, March 18, 2011

Sweden Creek Falls

I can't believe I've never been to visit Sweden Creek Falls before. It's a cool 81 foot -tall waterfall that is pretty easy to reach. The hike in isn't bad, and it's just a few miles away from the Arkansas photographer's mecca: Boxley Valley.

I woke up early on Sunday morning and met up with Matt in Conway, and we drove up north into the Ozarks. Eventually we made it into Boxley Valley, and even saw a few of the resident elk out and about. The elk were right by the road, which usually means that there would be a throng of elkarazzi out trying to get pictures. But the valley was unusually quiet, and we were the only ones snapping pictures of the elk.

Then we drove up a few miles and turned onto a dirt road, which we headed down for a few miles. Sweden Creek Falls is a Natural Area that is protected by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. From the dirt road it's a 1.8 mile hike down to the falls and back. The hike isn't that bad, but the way out is nearly all uphill.

For the first half of the hike, the trail is an old road that runs down the hill and by an old house. Once you get past the house, the trail then follows alongside and under a bluff. Quickly you find yourself at the end of the valley, with the falls ahead of you.

The weather was predicted to be cloudy that day, but I was disappointed to find it bright and sunny when we got to the falls. There was nary a cloud in sight. Luckily, the falls were still in the shade, so we were able to salvage a few pictures.

I spent a lot of time trying to get this shot, and I'm not really sure if it turned out. The sun was above the falls, and was shining down onto this small waterfall (or is it a pour-off?) that was raining down from the bluff above. The small waterfall was catching the light, and putting on a neat little light show. The picture doesn't quite do it justice...

We got a few more pictures, and vowed to return when the falls would have more water in the Spring.

On the drive back from the falls, we stopped and got a picture of this rusty old Chevy. It's been left in this parking lot of trees alongside the road. It looks like it's been there for awhile now...

Actually I'd gotten a shot of this truck before, way back in 2007.I remember randomly driving down this dirt road and finding the truck - I had no clue that Sweden Creek Falls was just a short drive away...